The original mandate of the…

The original mandate of the Thunder Bay Salmon Association was to establish a self-sustaining population of Chinook salmon in the Kaministiqua River. This was 30 YEARS ago. In that time there has been next to no return for the time and fish invested in the stocking program. Angler catches yield less than 1% of fish as being a stocked fish from the Thunder Bay Salmon Association hatchery. This is consistent every year as evidenced in catches presented during the annual salmon derby hosted by the same group. Any wild population that may have been occurring in the Kam River system has been virtually eliminated by the introduction of stocked fish. Instead of permitting the capture and collection of salmon eggs from other naturalized and healthy populations, only to be sacrificed without any returns, should be stopped. After 30 YEARS of stocking and without ANY meaningful returns, this program has proven itself to be very UNNEFFECTIVE. It is time to stop the Chinook stocking program, and explore alternatives to restore, enhance, and protect the population.